Everybody Wants to Rule the World

It's 1453 CE; the Portuguese have already discovered several islands and are exploring routes along the African coast when the Ottoman Empire gains control of Constantinople. Soon after, the major European trade routes are blocked, causing the trade via North Africa and the Red Sea to diminish significantly. In desperation, Europe looks outward. Instead of focusing on land-based trade routes, they start to explore other options to carry out their trade. This exploration was one of the main factors that started the Age of Discovery.

The Age of Discovery

Over the following two centuries, Europe expanded its influence around the world. What started out as a search for new trade routes soon became a search for new worlds. They discovered that the earth was much larger that what they had previously believed, and the discovery of new places and people caused them to send more and more ships out across the oceans. Jonas Bush observes in, "Exploring Our Lives," that "they [the explorers] had a burning drive to discover new things and bring themselves glory, wealth, and success."

Previously, exploration by ship generally took place near coastlines, never venturing into the unknown. But this changed when Christopher Columbus set out to find a western route to India, leading him to discover the Bahamas instead.

After it was revealed that there were new worlds, more rulers began to send voyagers to discover and claim these lands for themselves. Portugal claimed Brazil; Spain conquered Mexico, Chile, and Argentina; and England eventually established a colony in the United States.

America

Now while all these voyages and discoveries had good and bad about them, it was crucial that they happen for us to be able to live in these countries today. Discovering new worlds opened up countless doors that have led the way to new developments and discoveries over the centuries. And while all the worlds that were discovered were important, I think that the discovery of the United States was an irreplaceable event.

The Consequential Age of Discovery

Since the beginning of time, humans have been led by an insatiable desire to explore the world. This is particularly evident during the Renaissance time period. While explorations in the past have not always brought great change, several of the discoveries have had astronomical effects on the world.

Trade routes dominated early European economies

Vasco de Gama was a Portuguese explorer. He was one of the first to sail around the horn of Africa and landed in India. What makes this voyage particularly significant is the trade routes that it opened up. The spice routes brought great riches to Portugal. The effects of controlling these trade routes would set in motion events that would change the world. I would argue that this is one of the most important events in history. This time of prosperity that Portugal enjoyed was an inspiration to rival nations that riches lay in undiscovered trade routes. This is one of the primary reasons Spain sent Christopher Colombus in search of a different route to the Indies. While watching their neighbors grow richer by the day, they were willing to take a bold step to find a better way.

The discovery of the Americas by Christopher Colombus led to a series of events that would change the world forever. Conquerors, missionaries, and explorers alike would be drawn to the New World for the unknown opportunities that could be discovered. The New world offered seemingly limitless land. Many an explorer left their homes in search of treasures in the Americas. Other notable explorers of the New World include:

• Hernan Cortez who conquered the Aztecs
• Francisco Pizarro who conquered the Incas
• Jacques Cartier explored Eastern Canada 

Jessie Bruner wrote a blog post titled "World Discovery: A Necessary Evil..?" about how the conquistadors and other ruthless explorers were a necessary evil to discover the new lands. their methods were inhumane, yet, it opened up a world of opportunity that would lead to the founding of many great nations. Spain would soon be plagued by war, which would tear the New World from the Spanish control, however, they have already left their mark as millions of South and Central Americans still speak Spanish today.

America would continue to draw explorers and settlers for centuries to come. Carter Shearer wrote a blog titled "Manifest Destiny"  about the people who would soon sweep the nation as they spread west. As America was settled by immigrants from across the world, it would soon become a land of opportunity like none before it. Unclaimed land was oftentimes given away by the government to motivate settlers to develop lands.

Despite all these incredible discoveries, I believe the most significant discovery was not of lands or people.  I would argue that the discovery of the printing press was the most consequential discovery of the Renaissance, and perhaps of any time.  It revolutionized the spread of information. The Protestant Reformation could have never succeeded without it, as many had tried before to reform the Roman Catholic Church. The common folk finally had access to books, including the Bible, which had never been possible before in history. This opened a world of discovery for the lower classes.

Image credit: TheAndrasBarta World maps 2015, by Andras Barta licensed under CC 2.0

More Curiosity than Capacity

Michel de Montaigne said in his anthropological account Of Cannibals, “I fear me our eyes be greater than our bellies, that we have more curiosity than capacity. We embrace all, but we fasten nothing but wind.” I believe that this speaks to a tremendous failing of the Renaissance voyages of discovery. Being confronted with dozens of new and diverse cultures from which to learn, Renaissance explorers chose instead to invalidate the experiences of other by holding their own aloft.

No doubt motivated by the newfound philosophy of humanism, which allowed for the glorification of the individual, those claiming to seek understanding in reality sought only a confirmation of their superiority. Montaigne speaks to this quite directly in his essay, a dramatic break from the trend seen in the essays of Sir Walter Raleigh and even the fictional account Utopia by Thomas More. Rather than claiming that these “savages” needed anything from him, Montaigne instead purports that his countrymen had much to learn from these people that he describes as “noble”, “generous” and “untainted”.

Humanism, as understood by Montaigne, is not the glorification of some individuals over others. It is seeing purpose and beauty in all things, even and especially those that differ from our own understanding. In this aspect, this period experienced a tremendous failure. The great scholars of the time had their sights so firmly focused on the past in attempt to recapture its grandeur that they failed to see the tremendous opportunities for learning that were in from of them. They sought to learn, to mark on maps, to collect accounts of strange peoples and things without any interest in understanding a different world view. Embracing all, but fastening on nothing but wind.